Designer Alina Preciado, fell in love with a run-down Brooklyn loft apartment. With her artistry, she transformed the loft apartment into a home to die for. Even though the transformation of the loft apartment took over ten years, it is among the most cherished in the area. The designer and owner says that it took her about five months to notice progress in the transformation. If it was you, maybe you could have given up.
About the house
This loft apartment is located near the Brooklyn Naval Yard, formerly a popular naval ship-building center. Alina Preciado, an artist, designer, and owner of Dar Gitane, an online homeware store, is the proprietor of this exquisite house.
The house is about 180 square meters, and it comes with a clear view of the waters around the Manhattan Bridge. Oh, what scene! Alina spent fifteen years in the house, and she has come out victorious. She has included fine art installation, ceramics, glassblowing, woodworking, natural dyeing, fiber arts, product design, among other customizations. The floor looks spectacular as well.
There is also a white sleeping box, two big-size non-glass windows, an entrance hall, the sleeping section, home office, living room, dining area, kitchen, and laundry/storage.
The Challenging Neighborhood
You know how crowded Brooklyn is, but Alina managed to find the spacious house. And no, it isn’t nothing close to luck. It is all about her hard work that allowed her to transform the loft apartment to a habitable space.
As usual, Alina had to dig deeper into the New York City neighborhood and find the perfect place to call home. We all know how difficult it is to find a well-developed and established apartment in Brooklyn. That is the same thing that hit Alina with her house. The house was in an abandonment state. But the broken windows that brought in light were Alina’s ray of hope.
The Transformation
What would you do if you bought a broken-down car, and you wanted to transform it into a heavy machine on the road? Apparently, you would keep it away from friends that might discourage you. That is the same thing Alina did with her house. She kept it from her buddies and started working on it after purchasing it.
This is a house that was abandoned and stuffy, but Alina brought life back to it. With her experience and profession, she has added every possible aspect to make it lively enough. You will encounter a diverse of art and design. She also included tastes from China, Egypt, Mexico, Japan, India, Morocco, Algeria, Vietnam, among other countries.
Really, isn’t it a dream come true having spent 15 years trying to convert a ruined apartment into a modern and stylish house? Well, Alina is living her dream.
Images: INSIDE OUT, Photographer: Mark Seelen, Stylist: Marc Heldens
Previously open to the downstairs, the master bedroom was closed off to provide privacy.